Just days ago, Israel was relying on and coordinating with UNRWA to carry out the second round of a polio vaccination drive in Gaza. Now, it has outlawed the organization — with potentially catastrophic consequences for Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and across the region.

The Israeli Knesset’s vote this evening to expel UNRWA from its East Jerusalem headquarter will be catastrophic for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who depend on its assistance. No aid agencies can substitute its services. World leaders must intervene to stop this.

Today, we are pleased to announce 14 new Lacuna Fund grantees! Read the full announcement! lacunafund.org/announcing-awa… #ML #AI #Climate #Forests #OurVoiceinData #fillingdatagaps

New report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt "The violence that Israel has unleashed against the Palestinians post-7 Oct is not happening in a vacuum, but is part of a long-term intentional, systematic, State-organized forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians"

They say climate *protesters* are disruptive. Valencia today.

Half a decade ago, finding a public Igbo speech-text dataset was impossible, and resources for Yoruba and Hausa were relatively few. Today, we’re changing that narrative! We proudly present the largest African speech dataset for Nigerian languages, encompassing 1,800 hours and

Exciting news! Lacuna Fund and FAIR Forward launched the first Climate & Forests call for proposals! 🌱 14 projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America have been funded to create vital datasets for climate resilience and forest preservation. Advancing #OpenData and #AI4Climate

Repeat after me: generative AI is not a "creative" technology, it is an automation technology

"Of course we condemn Hamas' attack, of course we express solidarity with Israeli victims [...] But is it possible that after 42,000 people killed, you cannot empathise with Palestinians?" The tireless Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt in the 30 Oct UNGA (1hr59 in the rec) webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k…

Our new analysis, by Alek Tarkowski and Paul Keller, of Open Source Initiative @[email protected] 's definition of #opensource #AI considers its significance, limitations, and the need for a broader community norm openfuture.eu/blog/the-open-…

🌈 How can we overcome bias in AI? At MozFest House in Amsterdam, we had a powerful discussion on AI bias and LGBTQIA+ rights, challenging stereotypes embedded in tech. Find out more!

Join us this week as we chat with Green Web Foundation and #MozillaAlumni about people & planet over profit tech-alternatives. Register here ⤵️ thegreenwebfoundation.org/news/sustainab…

So, the majority of US Americans has made it clear that, if given the choice, they will not vote for a Black Women - but rather see a convicted male criminal take on responsibility for the highest political office Sad day for the US & the world - but not really surprising 🤷🏻

Beim Streit um den Wahltermin kommt man aus dem Kopfschütteln nicht mehr heraus. Man hat das Gefühl, hier sollen die programmatischen Schwächen der Parteien kaschiert werden. Terminfindung als politisches Großthema statt inhaltlicher Debatte!

Berlin’s city website quietly removed their outrageous accusation overnight, without a public apology or clarification yet, as we demanded in a letter we sent them.

Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar, originally from Damascus, now in Berlin: "Syria might have an ambigious, complicated and difficult future, but now at least it has a future. Under the Assad Regime, it was frozen in time." bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…

"Rather than talk about #AI in #Africa, we... focus on the context of where you are on the continent rather than a definitive catch-all that ignores the massive differences in place & experience. It’s a much closer reading of the ground... We are engaging with that #complexity”

"LLMs aren't linguistic agents like humans. Sensational claims overlook that language is embodied, participatory & dynamic—qualities incompatible with current AI. Languaging isn't fully capturable by data or models. #AI #LanguageModels #CognitiveScience" sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Unser Lesekreis zur Politischen Theorie geht 2025 weiter! Diesmal lesen wir Wolfgang Streeck, den "Karl Marx unserer Zeit" (NY Times). Alle 2 Wochen online, Start Ende Januar/Anfang Februar. Bei Interesse DM & gerne RT!